I agree with the otehrs in regards to “Stuff happens” Talk to the shop that did the work and see what can be done.
unfortunately, from this quote- it seems that you have already made up your mind to sue- and you do so quite often. Kinda makes me wonder why you even came here to ask then…
how long does a shop have to warranty their work? does a national chain shop have a different warranty than a 2 man private shop?
No shop has to warranty their work for even the shortest amount of time. Most that I know, however, will warranty the workmanship for one year. That does not include the parts, which will be under the warranty of the manufacturer.
Cc
I bought a vue with new timing belt and tensioner. Seller said it ran for 1 month after the new belt was installed till it died. I did find 1 old idler pulley though. Why did it jump time and bend valves with new parts after 1 month of use? This is tensioner with 2 new pulleys. The old 3rd pulley is not shown. old pulley spun fine. was quiet. i changed it for peace of mindThere’s no way to tell from here. The parts would need to be examined.
We haven’t heard from the OP in a few days so we still don’t know if he’s been in contact with the original shop that installed the belt. He’s out of town, but any reputable independent shop will be a member of a larger organization like Carquest TechNet, AC Delco Professional Service Center, Auto Value, Federated Car Care Center, and the like that will offer warranty coverage at the nearest facility if one is traveling.
Shop #1 may direct the driver to the nearest participating shop, may contact shop #2 directly, may tow the vehicle back home to be repaired, may provide replacement parts, may not do anything, who knows. But we need to hear what they say first. It’s a long weekend but hopefully OP will contact them Monday.
FWIW I’ve experienced this a few times from the shop side of things. Shop did a timing belt/water pump service on a Volvo and the water pump failed 3 months later. Belt jumped and bent valves in the head. We replaced the parts and had the head rebuilt–no charge and provided a loaner car. Shop replaced a leaky water pump on a Scion. 6 months later the pump started leaking and the customer drove the car until it overheated and blew a head gasket. We replaced the head gasket–no charge.
Most independent garages want to take care of their customers. The customer came to us with a problem, we handled it. Now I can tell you if the customer had sought legal assistance and a court summons or a lawsuit was the first I heard of the problem, I would have fought every step of the way and done the absolute minimum required of me. People make mistakes and parts are defective. You have to give them a chance to make things right before accusing them of wrongdoing.
I get the impression that the OP wants to avoid the original repair shop and ask the manufacturer of the part for compensation. The customers invoice may lack sufficient proof of the part purchase so the original shop will have to be contacted first. The parties involved may want to inspect the engine to determine if this is a workmanship fault.
